BY Rosemary
When Mario Gargiulo boarded a train from Naples to attend the 1956 Winter Olympics in northern Italy, he was a 20-year-old venturing north of Rome for the first time in his life. The journey to Cortina d’Ampezzo felt daring and spontaneous — a young man’s decision to chase something extraordinary.
Seven decades later, Gargiulo has returned to the Olympic stage in a way he could never have imagined. Now 89, he is the oldest volunteer at the Milan-Cortina Games and, on Sunday night, will take part in the closing ceremony at the ancient Arena in Verona, only a short walk from his home.
“To be part of it is incredible,” Gargiulo said hours before the ceremony. “I’ll wake up tomorrow and I’ll be wondering what happened to me. It’s beyond imagination.”
Among roughly 18,000 volunteers supporting the Games, Gargiulo was one of the first to sign up. His enthusiasm and longevity have earned him the affectionate nickname “King of the Volunteers,” a title that reflects not only his age but the life experience he brings to the role.
When he arrived at the first volunteer meeting in Verona, he immediately stood out.
“They were all 20, 25 years old, girls and boys, and they were looking at me sort of strange,” he said with a laugh.
Yet Gargiulo, a widower, father of three and grandfather of seven, embodies a version of the Olympic ideal shaped by decades of travel, service and cultural exchange.
His memory of the 1956 Games remains vivid. The train ride from Naples to Cortina d’Ampezzo marked his first trip into northern Italy. At the time, Cortina was a quiet mountain village, known largely within elite Italian circles. The global spotlight of the Winter Olympics would transform it into what is now a luxury alpine destination often referred to as the “Queen of the Dolomites.”
Back then, Gargiulo could only afford a modest, unheated room. He slept wearing every layer of clothing he had brought to fend off the winter chill. But discomfort faded into insignificance once the competitions began.
He watched figure skating and speedskating, captivated not only by the athletic performances but by the spectacle of international unity.
“I was astounded because seeing all these flags, people of different countries,” he recalled. “Sport is a common tie for everybody. And after awhile, even if you don’t know anything about the sport you’re watching, the competition, you become a fan.”
That early encounter with the Olympics left a lasting imprint. Years later, after marrying an American woman, he chose Cortina as their honeymoon destination — a return to the site of his youthful adventure.
His life would soon take on an even more international dimension. Gargiulo enlisted in the U.S. Army, rising through the ranks over a 27-year career that spanned assignments across the United States and postings in Korea, Vietnam, Germany and Russia. His command of languages proved valuable, and he eventually retired in 1994 with the rank of lieutenant colonel, having also become a U.S. citizen during his service.
Despite decades abroad, Italy remained home in spirit, and Verona became the setting for his later years. When the Milan-Cortina Games approached, Gargiulo saw an opportunity to reconnect with the Olympic movement that had once inspired him.
He volunteered eagerly, hoping to serve in Cortina again — or perhaps in Milan. Instead, organizers assigned him to Verona, a decision that initially disappointed him. Determined, he wrote to the organizing committee asking for reconsideration.
“They said, ‘We have a different plan for you,’” he recounted. “Then it turned out really it was something exceptional.”
That plan culminates Sunday night at the Verona Arena, a Roman amphitheater dating back nearly 2,000 years, where the closing ceremony will unfold before a global audience. Gargiulo cannot reveal the specifics of his role, but organizers have confirmed that he will take the stage in a prominent moment, symbolizing continuity between generations of Olympic participants and supporters.
Throughout the Games, Gargiulo has followed the action closely. He celebrated Italian Alpine skier Federica Brignone and her super-G victory, achieved just months after she suffered multiple fractures in her left leg — a comeback that resonated deeply with a man who understands perseverance. He has also kept a keen eye on speedskating and freestyle skiing, sports that first captured his imagination in 1956.
Now, as he prepares to step under the lights of the Arena, Gargiulo reflects on the passage of time not with nostalgia, but with gratitude.
“My pace, my tempo, has slowed down a bit,” he said. “But my heartbeat is still the same.”
Seventy years after a young Neapolitan set off alone to witness his first Winter Games, the Olympic spirit he discovered in the snowy Dolomites continues to guide him — proof that, for some, the flame never truly fades.
Original article
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